Car industry faces PPI-like claims

Are your ready for people pestering you on the phone, with the latest equivalent of the PPI claim?

Indeed, are you entitled to compensation?

The latest thing is the mis-selling of PCP car finance deals, according to the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB).

They have said that lawyers have started to look at dealers and finance firms, to see if customers have been sufficiently informed about the higher interest rates for PCPs, and the like.

With around a million cars being sold on PCP deals last year alone, if there's any deception found, this could be huge for the car industry, and indeed, very profitable for claims companies.

If it is found that drivers have been poorly informed, or even deliberately mislead about PCP deals, there could be a lot of compensation flying around in the coming months.

The NACFB said that two main things are being looked at.

The first is that it is thought people taking out a PCP weren't warned that they'd be paying considerably more interest over the term of the loan, than the amount they'd be paying if they bought their vehicle under a hire purchase (HP) agreement.

They're also looking at car salesmen, who may have told prospective buyers that, by considering PCP, they'll actually make a profit at the end of the contract, as the car they've bought is likely to be worth more than the final optional 'balloon payment' figure.

Graham Hill, of the NACFB, says: "If the PPI claims lawyers conclude there is enough basis to put forward a mis-selling case on PCPs then, given the huge volumes in which these products have been sold to both private individuals and businesses, the car finance industry could be shaken to its roots."

"While the PCP in itself can be an appropriate solution for many car owners, as it reduces the monthly payments quite significantly, the issue lies with the way these products have been sold."

"Were people made aware of the increased interest rate charges on PCPs relative to hire purchase agreements, and were they misled about the prospect of equity, either deliberately or out of dealer naivety?"

"In the majority of cases, I suspect ignorance and confusion among dealers is to blame."

"But this will not help them and the finance providers behind them if, in the months ahead, PCPs are judged to have been mis-sold. In the event that this happens, a significant number of consumers and business owners could be in for a sizeable cash windfall from the cars, motorcycles and vans they have purchased."

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3 comments

rjt

Interesting. Our car is on PCP and I was already beginning to think that we were mis-sold it, due to the interest being added to the amount upfront (so you can't pay it off early) and the equity in the car being less than they claimed it would be when the sold us the deal.